Colonial Athletic Association

[EPJr]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VCU-ODU_basketball_rivalry" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[EPJr]

AKRON, Ohio – Great teams always find ways to win.

That's what the VCU men's basketball team did when senior Bradford Burgess connected with junior Darius Theus for the game-winning lay-up with :02.1 remaining to give the Rams their seventh straight victory with a 76-75 defeat of Akron. It marks the fifth time in the past six seasons that the Rams have put together a win streak of seven games or more.

"That was a terrific college basketball game between two teams that were determined not to lose," Head Coach Shaka Smart said. "I have a ton of respect for Keith and the program here at Akron and it says a lot about our group of guys to show the will they did on a night when things weren't necessarily going our way. I'm extremely proud of the resolve we showed tonight in a tough atmosphere."


http://www.vcuathletics.com/sports/mbkb ... 9_5ktc.xml

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgScww6n ... r_embedded

[EPJr]

"I think we've become a rallying point," VCU athletics director Norwood Teague said. "We want to be that. We want to be Richmond's team."

"We have sold ourselves to the bone to where I have very little, if any, tickets that as they always say are in your back pocket," he (Norwood Teague) said. "I'm having to constantly tell people no."

"People are still buying (season tickets prorated), which is crazy," she (VCU's director of ticket operations Meghan Millar) said. "I sold two (Tuesday). I think we sold four the day before."

"They've been building support for the program for the past couple of years," CAA commissioner Tom Yeager said. "The Final Four just put a fire under it.

"It's an entertaining evening. It's good basketball. They've got all the elements: the spirit going on, the fervent fans. I hope it keeps going. I hope others can capture this environment. This is what college basketball is really designed to be."

"(VCU coach Shaka Smart) mentioned to me the other day we really needed to stay where we are," Teague said, "because the environment is so good and you don't want to fix something that's not broken."

http://www2.timesdispatch.com/sports/20 ... r-1605101/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[EPJr]

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"

It's two programs who have a history of going back and forth at one another," (Shaka) Smart said. "For the fans, it's become very, very heated. Probably the fans hate each other a lot more than the players or coaches. There's a respect there certainly among our players and coaches for them and their program."

"The personnel has changed, but the systems have not changed very much," Smart said. "Our preparation will be similar for what they do, and I'm sure for them what we do.

"For our freshmen, we'll talk about it and show tape. There's no substitute for being in the game."

"We've all got confidence," said Rams junior Darius Theus, whose spinning drive and lay-in with nine seconds left gave VCU a 69-68 win over the Tribe. "Offense will come."

"I had a call on a radio show a while back, and somebody was talking about starters," said (ODU coach Blaine) Taylor, who during the summer shaved off his trademark mustache, which has been a frequent target for the Rams' student section.

"I said, 'Well, to be honest with you, starters, I think there's way too much to it.' We all have these smoke-and-mirror presentations. And I made the comment that I want enders. I don't want starters. I want guys who can end games. That's who I'm tuned into to get the job done down the stretch."

http://www2.timesdispatch.com/sports/20 ... r-1628058/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[EPJr]

RAMS HOLD THIRD STRAIGHT OPPONENT UNDER 50
IN 67-42 ROAD WIN AT TOWSON


TOWSON, Md. – HAVOC continued its tour across the Colonial Athletic Association on Wednesday night when the VCU men's hoops team held its third straight opponent under 50 points in a 67-42 over Towson.

It is just the third time in school history that the Rams have held three straight opponents under the half-century mark (others were in '83-'84 and '07-'08).

http://www.vcuathletics.com/sports/mbkb ... 0125oqwizh

[EPJr]

Duke vs. North Carolina
and the 20 Nastiest Rivalries in College Basketball
14. VCU Rams vs. Old Dominion Monarchs



http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1053 ... all/page/9

[EPJr]

CAA AND NBC SPORTS GROUP REACH FIVE-YEAR AGREEMENTS
FOR NATIONAL BASKETBALL AND FOOTBALL RIGHTS


RICHMOND, Va. - February 13, 2012 – The Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) has reached five-year agreements with the NBC Sports Group that will provide the most extensive and comprehensive exposure of the conference in its history with coverage on NBC Sports Network and across the group’s regional sports networks.


The agreements, which begin with the 2012-13 season and runs through 2016-17, will provide national television coverage of CAA men’s basketball and football games on the NBC Sports Network, regional television coverage of CAA men’s and women’s basketball and football through the Comcast SportsNet regional networks and coverage of a variety of other CAA sports through NBCSports.com. The CAA is the first collegiate athletic conference to sign a broadcast agreement with the NBC Sports Network, which launched on January 2, 2012.

“We are thrilled to be associated with the NBC Sports Group,” CAA Commissioner Tom Yeager said. “The NBC Sports Network now provides a national platform to elevate the conference in conjunction with the relationship we’ve had with the Comcast SportsNets, which have been the foundation of our television package for almost three decades.”

http://www.nbcumv.com/mediavillage/spor ... 282276.xml" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[EPJr]

FRIDAY, MARCH 2
FIRST ROUND GAMES

Gm. 1
#9 UNCW 70, #8 James Madison 59

Gm. 2
#5 Delaware 72, #12 Towson 65

Gm. 3
#7 Northeastern 57, #10 William & Mary 49

Gm. 4
#6 Georgia State 85, #11 Hofstra 50


SATURDAY, MARCH 3
QUARTERFINAL GAMES

Gm. 5
#1 Drexel 59, #9 UNCW 47

Gm. 6
#4 Old Dominion 88, #5 Delaware 74

Gm. 7
#2 VCU 75, #7 Northeastern 65

Gm. 8
#3 George Mason 61, #6 Georgia State 59


SUNDAY, MARCH 4
SEMIFINAL GAMES

Gm. 9
#1 Drexel 68, #4 Old Dominion 51

Gm. 10
#2 VCU 74, #3 George Mason 64

[EPJr]

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[EPJr]

RICHMOND, Va. — There’s a growing fraternity of VCU point guards, guys who’ve gone from little-known commodities to leaders of NCAA tournament darlings: Eric Maynor, Joey Rodriguez and new pledge Darius Theus, who had the best game of his junior season — 16 points, five assists and five steals — in the Rams’ nail-biting, bid-clinching, 59-56 win over Drexel in Monday’s CAA tournament final. They worked out together on campus this offseason, Rodriguez sticking around after finishing his VCU career as a Final Four starter, and Maynor coming back from his second season with the NBA’s Thunder. It was from their example that Theus learned how to lead.

http://ncaa-tournament.si.com/2012/03/0 ... =cb_t11_a0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[EPJr]

[EPJr]

CAA
http://www.caazone.com/2012/03/06/you-d ... one.com%29" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

RAM NATION
http://www.vcuramnation.com/2012/03/vid ... mpionship/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[EPJr]

For the first time in CAA tournament history, there were three consecutive sold-out sessions, starting with Saturday's evening session. The total attendance of
47,833
also established a record, breaking last year's mark by more than 1,000.

http://www2.timesdispatch.com/sports/20 ... r-1742900/

[EPJr]

RAMS HEAD TO PORTLAND TO BATTLE FIFTH-SEEDED WICHITA STATE THURSDAY IN NCAA TOURNAMENT


RICHMOND, Va. – The VCU men's basketball team has known for a week that they were headed to "The Big Dance."

On Sunday night, the Rams finally learned their dancing partner and where the dance was going to start as VCU will travel to Portland for the Second and Third Rounds of the 2012 NCAA Tournament. The 12th-seeded Black & Gold will take on Missouri Valley Conference Regular Season Champion Wichita State, the fifth-seed in the South Region.

The Rams have already tied a school-record with 28 victories on the year and will be looking to break that record when they battle the Shockers on Thursday.

VCU will be making its second consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance, marking the first time since 1983-85 that the Rams have made back-to-back trips to "The Big Dance."

http://www.vcuathletics.com/sports/mbkb ... 0311c2wla4" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Rob Iola]

VCU, bitches!

[EPJr]

http://www.vcuathletics.com/sports/mbkb ... 5_jzi5.xml" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[blukeys]

Well as George Carlin said, " You really aren't a college unless you have a football team."

[EPJr]

Well as George Carlin said, " You really aren't a college unless you have a football team."

Colonel Sanders says:
nothing goes with biscuits like fried chicken

[EPJr]

The Peppas quickly drew a crowd in Portland

They've decided on Director Park, the stone-slab and sterile one-block-wide open area in the middle of Portland's downtown. They just showed up here, as they're wont to do — and unsuspecting people are thankful for it; just ask those who had their Riverwalk experience enhanced when a boat crammed with 29 instruments plowed through San Antonio in 2011.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhS4cOPv ... r_embedded

There are more songs in the band's catalogue (nearly 80) than there are people in the band. Travel bands for the NCAA tournament are only allowed to be 30 people deep, conductor included, meaning VCU can bring less than half of its 70-person outfit to the games. In Portland, the Peppas are comprised of eight trumpets, eight trombones, five tubas, a drum set, a tenor sax, two flutes, a clarinet and a mellophone.

Slowly but surely Kopacsi believes other bands are getting how teams and fans feed off creativity, energy and musically interactive experiences. It can help a program win; people feel better when good, different music is played. The Peppas pride themselves on the fact they don't have sousaphones or trombones adorned with team logos. To them, thickly striped band shirts and decorating instruments is beyond tacky. They are not with the basketball program — they enhance the basketball program and the experience of going to a game.

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They also try their best to not pick songs every other band is playing. You probably don't know Rebirth Brass Band or No BS!, but you know you love it when you hear those songs. Kopacsi picks songs based on what they'll be good for. The mood, the right song at the right spot: pre-game, during timeouts, halftime, and post-game. It's a lot of funk, groove, big brass band and bombastic pop that he chooses.

“Other bands are really getting the idea that it's not just music,” Kopacsi said, pointing out George Mason (who is also very awesome: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32VmJQCmCxk) as a dominant example. “But other band directors, it's like “Flight of the Bumblebee” and making sure everything is perfect, but you lose the aspect of the show. You have to put on a show. Because basketball fans don't care if all the notes are right. They just want to be entertained.”

http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketb ... basketball

[Brock Landers]

Choke

[Rob Iola]

Choke

Just brutal...

[TheDancinMonarch]

Choke

Just brutal...

Actually it was GLORIOUS!!

[EPJr]

BURGESS, RAMS FALL IN HEARTBREAKING FASHION
TO FOURTH-SEEDED INDIANA

VCU men's basketball team displayed toughness and athleticism all night long, holding one of the top offenses in the country to just 63 points on the night.

Unfortunately for the Black & Gold, that was two more points than they could put on the scoreboard as the 12th-seeded Rams fell 63-61 to fourth-seeded Indiana in the Third Round of the NCAA Tournament. VCU's season comes to a close with a record-setting 29-7 record.

"I'm incredibly proud of our guys. They really battled and played hard all night," Head Coach Shaka Smart said. "I really believe that not so much relative to what we thought, but relative to everyone else's expectations, this team had an unbelievable year, and really overachieved in a lot of ways."


http://www.vcuathletics.com/sports/mbkb ... 03172y3uxa

[EPJr]

Just brutal...

Actually it was GLORIOUS!!

so was the sweeping of the pussycats

[93henfan]

It's nice to see EPJr go rogue once in a while. Wasn't too sure you weren't some sort of CAA bot there for awhile.

Turns out, you're a passionate VCU fan.